EASTER WEEK // Montes Universales

...every Easter, Stefan makes time for a week-long bikepacking pilgrimage somewhere new. Somewhere empty and undiscovered. In previous years, these trips have seen him ride in Romania, Sierra de Cazorla and the hidden hills of Valencia. This year, he chose Montes Universales in Northern Spain...

STEFAN ROHNER

After reading an article about Montes Universales in EL PAIS, I decided to tour Sierra de Javalambre, Montes Universales, Parque Natural del Alto Tajo and Serrania de Cuenca this 2019 Easter week…

The population density of these places is very low, not only due to the hardness of the climate and orographic conditions, but also due to the intense emigration that took place during the 20th century. Soon I found out that the places mentioned in the EL PAIS article offer great possibilities to move around with a bike on the many gravel roads, mountains, river valleys, to sleep outside and enjoy beautiful untouched nature. Easter week seemed to be a perfect time for visiting – spring would be there, and the weather should already be pleasant at the end of March, though the places mentioned above are in general colder than the mediterranean places I am used to…

With the help of Google Street View I planned a nice 650km route with 12000m climbing, on approximately 70% gravel roads, and the rest secondary tarmac roads.The days before leaving, I nervously checked the weather app twice a day, but that didn’t help; the weather forecast was not good looking: rain, snow, very strong winds, and low temperatures for the whole Easter week! I prepared thermal bibs, warm layers, warm sleeping underwear, the winter sleeping bag, the mattress for low temperatures …. It was a good decision to bring all the warm stuff, I needed all of it! The week was a beautiful adverse play of changing weather. The weather forecast was right: very low temperatures for this time of the year, snow, rain and brutal winds. The beautiful landscapes, harsh brute nature, and little rural villages compensated for the bad weather I had most of the week. I had to walk and push the bike for many hours over several days through snow, ride on icy frozen snow plates, still happy to be in such a beautiful place. When moving in the woods on gravel roads I was virtually alone, accompanied by foxes, some boars, and many herds of deers, every day a spectacle.

I’ve seen many parts of Spain, but this is probably my favourite part of this beautiful country. Highly recommended!…

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